How To Control Your Inner Critical Voice

Let’s face it the old inner critical voice can be a pain in the ass! The fact is we use self talk throughout the day so wouldn’t it be great if we could learn how to transform annoying internal voices into something more pleasant?

One of the first things to keep in mind is that even if the voice has bad tonality and says caustic things to you, at some level it has something of value for you in mind.

The way you speak to yourself has been rehearsed and then become an automatic habit. This is good news because it suggests you can re-learn and create a more beneficial habit. I’m guessing you’ve probably tried changing one of those voices by trying to talk to it. Maybe asking it to be a bit more patient or sternly telling it to shut the hell up! The problem with that approach is that it can make things worse. There is a better way to tame the inner critical voice…

If you were to think of one of your annoying internal voices now, just become aware of where it is located in space. You know, is it behind your head, to the left or to the right? And just become aware of how it speaks to you. How does it sound? What are the qualities of the voice? Is it fast speech or slow? Is it a deep voice? How loud is it?

By becoming aware of these qualities you discover the structure. This is what holds the thought pattern together; the glue. The fun part comes next when we interrupt the pattern and sabotage it! Melting the glue in essence.

Have a go with the following technique to change one of your ‘inner critics.’

Transforming Your Inner Critical Voice

Think about your ‘inner critic.’ What does it say? Where is it located in space? How fast does it speak? Notice the tonality.

What happens when you repeat the critical phrase while slowing it down? Create a gap or pause between each word and notice how it reduces the emotional impact. Really slow it down.

Now hear the same criticism but in your favourite actors ‘bedroom voice.’ What does that sound like in Marilyn Monroe’s voice or Brad Pit’s tonality?

Changing the structure of the thought pattern, changes your response to it. Simply changing the tonality of that inner critical voice could take you from feeling despondent to feelings of humorous laughter!

One Response to

How To Control Your Inner Critical Voice

I’m having trouble with this. Every change I make to the critical voice either increases its impact/”criticalness” or leaves that impact/”criticalness” unchanged — and I’ve been making every change (to that critical voice) that I can imagine or create, in every imaginable/creatable direction of change! HELP!!!